Thursday

Apr 9, 2020 at 7:47 AM

Connie Meyers said she placed a large grocery delivery order on Instacart last week that never arrived.

The 59-year-old graphic designer didn't mind extended delivery delays amid the ongoing coronavirus crisis. But something strange happened on Monday, the day her $351 purchase was set to arrive at her doorstep.

"The order immediately went to 'delivered' after the shopper began shopping," Meyers said. "And the shopper then sent an old picture of my home that was clearly pulled from the internet as proof."

Instacart is being bombarded with an onslaught of orders during the stay-at-home era and is struggling to keep up. On Wednesday, it announced plans to bolster its offerings and speed up the process after customers reported having a hard time finding delivery slots.

But there's something else happening, too. Instacart's Twitter feed is rife with complaints from customers accusing personal shoppers of stealing their groceries at a time when more people are out of jobs, behind on rent and afraid to go out to shop for themselves.

Krissa Harris tweeted at Instacart saying, "yesterday your delivery driver fulfilled my order & then disappeared. I can only assume she had a terrible accident or stole my groceries."

Instacart encourages customers to contact its customer service department on the website if there's an issue. The company is also working to implement more in-app support features for shoppers.

"In the very rare instance that a customer does not receive their order, they can contact Instacart Care to have their order fully refunded or rescheduled," Instacart said in a statement.

Instacart lets you shop from local grocery stores via an app and website. Then it sends a personal shopper to gather your items and bring them to you, typically on the same day. Since more people face stay-at-home orders and want to have their groceries delivered, Instacart added features on Tuesday.

One lets you set up a delivery two weeks in advance. The other pairs users with real-time shoppers to get orders sooner. But neither addresses what's happening with deliveries that seemingly vanish.

Lynne Emmerson, who lives just outside Boston said she was alarmed when she got alert saying an order she previously canceled was marked as delivered.

Not only that, but she was also charged $50 for an order of Diet Coke. And it never showed up.

"Suddenly, I get an email saying 'your order was delivered and here is your receipt.'" Emmerson said. "Like what? Nobody ever delivered anything. I even checked my security cameras."

She disputed the charge with her bank and got a refund.

Tabitha Branham of Gallatin, Tennessee helped her mother-in-law place a $220 order last week. But the bag of fresh meat, canned foods and laundry detergent never showed up on Monday when it was supposed to.

"Everything was going as normal at first," Branham said. "We were watching the interactive map. But as soon as 'Wendy the shopper' stopped shopping, it showed delivered."

She complained about the incident on Instacart's live chat feature and tweeted at the company. Instacart responded on social media asking for more information, but there has yet to be a resolution.

"There was no refund. No real help. No nothing," Branham said.

Some of the issues Instacart faces stem from an onslaught of unprecedented demand. Instacart has seen its order volume swell more than 300% year-over-year, and the company recently hired more than 100,000 new workers.

The complaints of disappearing packages come just weeks after some of Instacart's shoppers boycotted the company, demanding new protections in the age of COVID-19. Workers wanted disinfectant wipes, hand sanitizer and better pay.

Instacart responded with a new app setting to help its gig workers earn higher, more consistent tips. And it announced plans to add additional safety measures.

Follow Dalvin Brown on Twitter: @Dalvin_Brown

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